OPEN MINDS Announces Executive Roundtable On SAMHSA’s Crisis Guidelines

Gettysburg, Pa. (May 4, 2024) On May 8, 2025, at 1:00 p.m. ET, Connections Health Solutions leaders Margie Balfour, MD, Ph.D., Chief Quality & Clinical Innovation Officer, and Chris Santarsiero, Vice President of Government Affairs, will present the SAMHSA crisis guidelines and provide their recommendations for creating more effective community crisis systems without barriers during the OPEN MINDS Circle Elite Executive Roundtable, Strategies For Integrating SAMHSA’s National Behavioral Health Crisis Care Guidance: The Connections Health Solutions Case Study.

SAMHSA’s crisis guidelines focus on transforming systems for behavioral health crisis care, incorporating the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline transition, and addressing emerging needs, guided by equity, trauma-informed approaches, recovery, and data-driven decision-making. Dr. Balfour and Mr. Santarsiero will also detail how no-barrier crisis stabilization centers align with the guidelines, examining the regulatory changes and their impact on enhancing behavioral health systems.

“A common challenge for executive teams is the development of a service line that consumers, payers, and regulators will find valuable,” said OPEN MINDS Chief Executive Officer Monica E. Oss. “Provider organizations that are considering a new crisis service line should consider the strategic advantage of making that service line fully coordinated and integrated and providing the necessary emergency-capable services that offer rapid first responses and reduced law enforcement response and emergency room usage.”

Executive attendees of this session will:

• Explore the evolution of SAMHSA guidelines and their recommendations for creating more effective, no-barrier community crisis systems.
• Learn how to design crisis systems that seamlessly integrate within both urban and rural health care networks, while addressing regulatory and logistical challenges.
• Discover strategies to educate and inspire state, county, and city leaders to prioritize high-acuity crisis services and strengthen their community’s crisis care infrastructure.

To register for the 1:00 p.m. ET, May 8 event, visit https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8254551006341629535. There is no cost to register, but a free membership in the OPEN MINDS Circle is required.

Speaker Bios

Margie Balfour, MD, Ph.D., Chief Quality & Clinical Innovation Officer, Connections Health Solutions

Dr. Margie Balfour is a psychiatrist and national leader in quality improvement and behavioral health crisis care. In addition to serving as Chief Quality & Clinical Innovation Officer, she is also an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Arizona. Dr. Balfour was named Doctor of the Year by the National Council for Behavioral Health for her work at the Crisis Response Center in Tucson and received the Tucson Police Department’s medal of honor for helping law enforcement better serve people with mental illness. She contributes to expert panels for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ). Her pioneering work on crisis metrics has been adopted as a national standard, and she co-authored Roadmap to the Ideal Crisis System: Essential Elements, Measurable Standards, and Best Practices. Dr. Balfour is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and serves on the Quality-of-Care Council.

Chris Santarsiero, MBA, Vice President of Government Affairs, Connections Health Solutions

Chris Santarsiero is a seasoned professional with over 26 years of experience in government relations, contract procurement, and strategic consulting. As the Vice President of Government Affairs at Connections Health Solutions, Chris focuses on developing and executing policy outcomes that drive market access, innovative value-based care models, thought leadership, and new business opportunities with the Growth and Development Team.  He is a passionate advocate for behavioral health crisis care, providing alternatives to emergency departments and jails for individuals experiencing behavioral health emergencies. Chris’s expertise spans federal and state government affairs, Medicare/Medicaid reimbursement, legislative relations, public policy, political campaigns, and public relations. His career includes significant roles such as Government Markets Director at National Strategies (NSI) in Washington, DC, where he served as a healthcare policy expert and led strategic sales teams in the state, local and education (SLED) market. At VITAS Healthcare, Chris was instrumental in negotiating regulatory structures and securing approvals for high-quality hospice care, generating substantial annual revenues, and protecting the Medicare Hospice Benefit.

About OPEN MINDS

OPEN MINDS is a national market intelligence, management consulting, and marketing services firm specializing exclusively in the high-needs consumer market – mental health, addiction treatment, cognitive disabilities, chronic health conditions, elder services, health-related social needs, and adjacent markets within the health and human service field. Its mission is to provide payers, service provider organizations, pharmaceutical, technology, and scientific firms that serve these consumers with the market and management knowledge needed to improve their organizational efficiency and effectiveness. Learn more at openminds.com.